Rob Gauss’ job description as chairman of the board of the American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis doesn’t include deployment to the front lines of a national disaster zone. But that’s what he’s training to do.
Currently, assets in an Indiana legacy trust must vest within 90 years, covering a few generations of heirs. But a proposal before the Probate Code Study Commission would quadruple that time to 360 years, allowing for the creation of Hoosier “dynasty trusts” for the first time.
The Indiana Supreme Court recently announced the 2020 class of Indiana Judicial College “graduates,” recognizing nine judges and magistrate judges for earning 120 hours of judicial education credits through programs offered by the court’s Indiana Office of Court Services. This year’s group is the 42nd to be inducted into the college by earning certification.
Female lawyers say they’ve seen a concerted push over the last decade to develop women law firm leaders, and those efforts seem to be bearing fruit.
Under the Indiana Dead Man’s Statute, the deceased can tell no tales, but a recent decision by the state’s Court of Appeals has created uncertainty over when the survivors can speak, particularly where it concerns trusts.
A core tenet of American citizenship is access to the ballot. Defining who is and is not a citizen has been used as a chess piece in many partisan and nonpartisan fights. Again the voting ritual is upon us, and I challenge voters to mark their ballots then plan to hold those they voted for or against accountable.
Peter Prostyakov, a native of Moscow who’s now a U.S. Citizen living in Carmel, details what he concedes is his convoluted journey into the federal judicial system, where he believes courts act unfairly toward him and other self-represented litigants.
Retirement. Depending on where someone is on the age spectrum, it is a prospect too distant to be felt with any sense of reality or something that is coming like a fastball straight at your nose. Two lawyers who recently retired and I exchanged our thoughts about life in retirement.
The Indiana Lawyer editorial staff has been covering Indiana’s voter suppression laws and how they are holding up to court challenges. So far, so good for several statutes, which is awful news for democracy and the right to vote.
When Indiana University decided to assemble a committee to reevaluate the naming of buildings and landmarks on the Bloomington campus after the school’s seventh president, David Starr Jordan, who afterward championed eugenics, the institution started by calling the law schools.
For a long time, I’ve wanted a legal pad app for my iPad that could reliably turn my handwriting into text. The iPad and Apple Pencil should do this well, but there was too much friction in getting the text to be recognized and usable. That’s all changed with the latest iPad OS update. Apple gives users Scribble — the ability to hand-write in any field on the iPad and the iPad will turn handwriting into text, almost instantly. This is a serious tool.
The Indianapolis Bar Foundation (IBF), the charitable arm of the Indianapolis Bar Association, is a community-focused leader of the local legal profession. The foundation’s ongoing grants and programs are maintained solely through the generosity and energy of its directors, fellows and donors.
A helpful tool to simplify complex scenarios for clients is the use of visual aids or flowcharts to demonstrate key portions of a will or trust. Particularly in a trust instrument, a diagram of how assets flow is often very helpful to clients and helps them understand things simply.
The IndyBar Pro Bono Awards honor IndyBar members who are practicing lawyers, retired lawyers, in-house and corporate counsel, and law students as well as local law firms who have made outstanding contributions toward delivering volunteer legal services to the poor and disadvantaged.
The legendary Green Bay Packers coach, Vince Lombardi, is credited with saying, “Hope is not a strategy.” The trucking industry and those who defend it need to move beyond merely hoping that the jury will be convinced that the plaintiffs have failed to carry their burden of proof on punitives. Recent verdict history shows that arguing that the conduct at issue “wasn’t that bad” often fails.
The IndyBar Government Practice Section is pleased to offer two tickets to Bingham Greenebaum Doll’s 29th annual Legislative Conference (LegCon) to section members. LegCon will be completely virtual this year and will take place on Thursday, Dec. 17. Registration, as well as the agenda and speaker lineup, will be available soon.
Prior to 2019, Hoosiers interested in creating a directed trust had to leave the state to do so. Now they do not, and Indiana banks and trust companies have a new product to offer customers and will be able to attract business from other states that still do not allow for directed trusts.
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
The Crisis Empowerment Grant Program was a wholesale success! More than 110 cases were settled and dozens of cases have been finalized and paid out. More than 40 cases are still active and the selected lawyers continue to work with their clients to assist with their legal issues.
The Indianapolis Bar Association’s Nominating Committee has announced the selection of Rebecca Geyer as the 2023 President of the Indianapolis Bar Association. Geyer will serve as the association’s First Vice President on the 2021 Board of Directors and as President Elect in 2022.